Running in Rest

This past Sunday (yesterday) I had the gracious privilege of fellowshipping with another church in celebration of their 8th anniversary. As part of the commemoration of God's faithfulness, I was able to participate in a 5k "fun run" with the fellow saints. The running route was just that - fun. As the skies cleared from the rain, I was able to enjoy the sun, the breeze, and the scenery. In addition, there were also occasional upward and downward slopes we had to run through. I would not consider myself a runner by any stretch of the imagination, but what I relied on heavily to get me through the course were the downward slopes. During these stretches, I disengaged the strenuous activity of my leg muscles and embraced the active rest I received from the natural laws of momentum. Unlike the treadmill, where I would be constantly running in place, I ran in rest.

All comparative illustrations in life fail to find an adequate analogy, but I will do my best here. I'd like to think of the Christian life as running in rest. Truth is, every person will be running a race. The question is, what kind of race? Some run the race of prestige seen in financial prosperity, education, occupation, or intellect for self-glory; then there are others who run the race of grace for God's glory.

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Jesus Christ, Matthew 11:28-30

In ancient times, the people of Israel were subjugated to the false teachings of the religious elite. As the promised King of Israel, Christ in His first coming spent a bulk of His ministerial time in correcting the false notions of true righteousness. Many believed true righteousness manifested in the external, not the internal. Many were convinced in attaining by work, not receiving by faith. Jesus Christ came to call sinners, not the righteous (Mark 2:17). In other words, if salvation could be attained by merit, Jesus Christ need not come in the first place.

In today's world, although we do not live life working to obtain righteousness before God per se, we do live life working to obtain self-satisfying vanity. We run toward and for the things Solomon warns about in the book of Ecclesiastes. We choose to run the treadmill branded by the company Pride & Prestige. We run, yet we run in place realizing at the end when the treadmill has stopped, we have gotten nowhere. Christ calls it storing up treasures on earth (Matthew 6:19). In modern colloquy, the idea of religion implies the belief in some higher power or deity, but I'd like to propose that religion is better seen in one's worldview or lifestyle. Therefore, everyone is a religious person because everyone has a worldview and lives a certain way. How tragic would it be to follow a religion that does not surpass the boundaries of vanity? Or fails to consider the reality of eternity? Those who live like god is dead are right only because they make themselves out to be that dead god.

However, the irony is seen in that the death of the one true God, in the person of Jesus Christ, resulted in His resurrection and ascension, further resulted in the life of believers. What was once a hell-bound race turned into heaven-bound grace. And since grace cannot be earned, there is no working, only rest. This is what Jesus Christ meant by the idea of rest in Matthew 11:28-30. Life is not to be lived in working toward salvation (or as it is more applicable in today's society, self-indulgences), but by resting in the work and person of Jesus Christ. To find rest for our souls in Christ is to trust in His completed work on the cross on our behalf. Resting because of completed work is infinitely easier than laboring for work that cannot be completed. But rest is not a synonym for laziness. In contrast, resting in Jesus Christ demands splinters from the crosses we carry and blisters from the shoes we run, especially when our feet become weary.

"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2

I used to believe that resting in Christ meant having an apathetic approach to life. I had a mentality that said, "Since I'm saved, and Christ did the work, I don't have to be so diligent in living a 'perfect' life." Though I cannot attain my salvation by living a perfect life, the paradoxical reality of resting in Christ is manifest in diligently running toward the goal of Christ-likeness. The writer of Hebrews does not use apathetic, passive descriptions of the Christian life; in contrast, the verbiage used describes everything but a passive, apathetic approach to life. We must consider what it means to "lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us" or what it means to "run with endurance the race set before us." We are not robots who automatically become holy beings at the point of justification. Rather, by the Spirit's power, we are to be diligent in studying scripture to live a God-honoring life, all the while dealing with our wills and desires. Simply put, resting in Christ means consciously following hard after Christ.

One of the most wonderful aspects of the Christian life is knowing that the power to do the will of God is exclusively supplied by God. Nothing I do for God comes strictly from me. Why is this important? Because it allows us to rest in Christ, and it allows us to rest well in Christ. As the verses say, the only reason we are able to fix our eyes on Christ is because He is the author and perfecter of our faith. The glories that awaited Him during His time on earth gave Him joy in the midst of His suffering, in the enduring of the cross. Likewise, the glories that await us on the other side of eternity allow us to endure our own cross, run our own race.

Here's the bottom line: you're either running in place or you're running in rest. Running in place is seen in the extreme ends of either living an apathetic life or a self-indulgent life. In the end both options are useless and everything achieved will be burned. Running in rest is seen in the unyielding pursuit of living a Christ-centered life, in whatever situation - work, school, family, etc. - one may be in. In the end, it is the life that will be met with the words, "Well done My good and faithful servant."